Gracey

Ha! You're down to an hour countdown!!!

Ha! A weeeeee bit betta!

LJM - all this time, I thought that you had lost a child. Not that losing a "bestest dog" is easy; just saying. I never had the nerve to ask. My former neighbors have a great dane. I was pulling weeds when I first moved in and he came galloping at me - startled the hell out of me! (And I say gallop b/c he was as big as a horse and had a kind of 'aww shucks' way about the way he ran.) He was in no way rushing me aggressively; it was just the 'holy cow, he's huge' thought that went through my mind! (And that his head was above the chain link fence!) He was a pretty brindle thing tho!

What a lovely post, Jack! I can't wait to be banded! :-D Everytime I see your avatar, I think "arrggggg, matey"

incredulous - I so love big words :wink_smile: I definitely need to go shopping. I found a list online but despise shopping so much that I haven't gone yet. Oh well. I'm still trying to figure out which of the Protein drinks to try. :teeth_smile: I too am going to have a Realize band and my doc waits until 6 weeks out for a fill too. (like... omg, haha) I just realized that 6 weeks exactly out for me will be Thanksgiving day. :redface: Oh the irony... PS - loved "high functioning moron" - unfortunately, it seems like there are plenty on both sides. :biggrin:

April - you're about as far away from surgery as I have until my surgery. Have any thoughts you'd like to share? Anything you would do the same and/or differently? Thx!

BBK - with all the crap you've gone through in the last month, you really do have to give yourself a break, gf. No hating oneself allowed. :teeth_smile:

I keep continuing to forget to watch SNL; I am so pissed! I saw Fey's depiction the first week on youtube; it was hilarious! She got the accent spot on! Yes re: Poppa Bush. Supposedly bin Laden sent him a note wanting to meet and he blew him off (understandably). Supposedly that begun the hatred. I can't imagine wanting to run for President these days. There's way too crap they have to put up with. There are definitely things I agree with McCain on and things I disagree on with Obama but I agree more with Obama. I was just on selectsmart.com. I hadn't realized that McCain was for gay marriage or a civil union as much as he been against. Also, didn't know that Obama was against gay marriage but for something civil (for him to supposedly be soooo leftish.) Interesting.

Funny! Glad you took it as meant, Aprilapple!! Here's an interesting story from AOL entitled "Palin Interviews Spark GOP Concerns" that I thought you might like reading. Palin Interviews Spark GOP Concerns

I noticed the exact same thing. At the very end, Obama shook McCain's hand, looked him in the eye and said, "Good job." McCain wouldn't even look at him. Was it the race issue? Perhaps. Was it the fact that he thinks he's going to get his ass kicked in the election? Hopefully! The candidate that scares me is Sarah Palin with her ultra-conservative views. Hopefully Biden will obliterate her in the debate. I almost wish they'd done the VP debate last Friday so there would've been less time for the Republicans to train her.

I hope and pray that I don't have to be on antidepressants for the rest of my life! That would ROCK to get off of them! I've read somewhere within a post a theory that there is a link b/w obesity and antidepressants. Interesting thought nonetheless.

This is politically neutral: I saw Bill Clinton on Larry King Live, I believe. He said that it used to be that 40% voted Democrat and 40% Republican so the politicians were going after the remaining 20%. Now it's closer to 45-45 so they're going after 10%. Presuming that's true, that's pretty wild if you think about it. Both parties spend major bucks for 10% of the population. Crazy.

The Republican constant spin of Democrats increasing out taxes makes me laugh. We are currently living under the worst debt than we have ever had in the history of the country. So it's OK to spend billions upon billions on the war but not on programs for our fellow Americans. Good idea. JWRN - spare me the stereotyping. Not all of any group does or thinks the same! SORRY FOR THE CAPS; JUST TRYING TO DIFFERENTIATE MYSELF. I DON'T BELIEVE ANYTHING ABOUT ALLLLLL REPUBLICANS OTHER THAN WE MIGHT DIFFER ON POLITICS. WE ARE ALL THE SAME HUMANS IN GOD'S EYES. 1) Democrats want someone to take someone else's money and feed the poor. Republicans want to take their own money and feed the poor themselves. REPUBLICANS LIKE RONALD REAGAN WANT "TRICKLE DOWN" ECONOMICS THAT FAIL. DURING HIS REIGN, THE RICH GOT RICHER THE POOR GOT POORER. BUT YES, THERE ARE TOO MANY ENTITLEMENT PROGRAMS AND TOO MANY WITH THEIR HANDS OUT. 2) Democrats want to fight corporations and hug terrorists. Republicans want to work for or run corporations and fight terrorists. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I WANT TO HUG A TERRORIST. THAT IS ABSOLUTELY BEYOND ABSURD. I WORK FOR A CORPORATION. 3) Democrats want the right to legislate equality. Republicans want to the right to earn equality. REPUBLICANS JUST WANT TO THINK THEY'RE ABOVE EVERYONE ELSE. 4) Democrats want to save the earth despite the presence of people. Republicans want to save the earth because of the presence of people. WHAT REPUBLICAN WANTS TO SAVE THE EARTH? UNLIKE WHAT MRS. PALIN THINKS, WE HAVE DONE THIS TO OURSELVES; THEREFORE, WE NEED TO GET OURSELVES OUT OF IT. 5) Democrats select stances that will enhance their positions with special interest groups. Republicans select stances they believe are correct. SERIOUSLY? WE WANT TO DISCUSS SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - LET'S DISCUSS THE NRA AND OIL COMPANIES. THEY GIVE HUGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY TO THE REPUBLICANS!!! 6) Democrats will use any means, including legislating from the bench, to achieve their goals. Republicans will surrender an issue rather than rape the U.S. Constitution. BY THE BENCH, DO YOU MEAN THE SUPREME COURT? IF SO, THE COUNTRY HAS VOTED IN A REPUBLICAN PREZ THAT HAS APPOINTED MORE CONSERVATIVE JUDGES. IT'S DEFINITELY GETTING MORE AND MORE SWAYED TO THE RIGHT. REPUBLICANS SURRENDERING....GOOD ONE. 7) Democrats will stab their own friends in the back (Hillary Clinton) as soon as someone seemingly better comes along (Obama). Republicans still honor their fallen political heroes and even adopt fallen Democrats (see Dick Morris and Bernie Goldberg). YEP, McCAIN CONTINUES TO SUPPORT BUSH EVEN THOUGH HE IS THE WORST PREZ IN HISTORY. 8) Democrats will march around and throw blood on people wearing fur and protest the harsh living conditions of chickens. Republicans are against abortion. I'M JUST AGAINST A BUNCH OF OLD MEN TELLING WOMEN WHAT TO DO WITH THEIR BODIES. BIDEN SAID THAT THERE ARE 40+ SENATORS OLDER THAN HE IS AND HE'S 65ish!! ALL OF THOSE OLD RICH MEN COULD GET THEIR RELATIVE AN ABORTION EVEN IF IT WERE ILLEGAL. I DON'T LIKE THAT THE ULTRA RIGHT-WINGERS WANT PRO-LIFE NO MATTER WHAT BUT WE HAVE NOTHING IN PLACE TO HELP THESE MOTHERS ONCE THEY'VE HAD THE CHILDREN. YOU'RE IN POVERTY, AMERICAN FEMALE? DOESN'T MATTER-HAVE THE CHILD. YOU'RE ON DRUGS, SAME. IT'S OK TO BRING CHILDREN INTO A WORLD OF HELL? 9) Thanks to a few conservative radio shows and a single unbiased news channel, Democrats don't feel like the Fairness Doctrine would hurt the first amendment. Republicans haven't changed their stance on freedom of speech despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of the media are liberal. FOX, RUSH.... 10) Democrats rejoice when someone they disagree with dies. Republicans, as usual, cherish and respect life. THAT'S A DISGUSTINGLY STUPID GENERALIZATION BUT IF YOU WANT TO BELIEVE WE ALL HAVE HORNS, HAVE AT IT.

The crying is exactly the reason I got off Zoloft last year! I was miserable and there was no reason for me to be that way. When I went on Wellbutrin briefly, I had major rage; it was awful. I'm glad you got off the hormones for the surgery. I'm sure it's been yuk but my mom was on a huge dosage of hormones to avoid getting hot (she's not overweight) and got a clot that ran from her groin to her knee! Of course, it terrified us but after a week in the hospital, she was back home and has been fine for 6+ years. She's still on hormones; it's just a lower dose now.

HAHAHA! Good damn point, Jack! One of my gf's keeps thinking they're going to come up with some pill; it drives me nutters. "I don't eat that much; I need a pill to tell my fat cells to let go." Doesn't eat fruit and when she does eat, it's fried foods at a restaurant.

Yeah, Mac, I'm with you - no coffee for moi.

Amen! I called a pharmacist to make sure that I could take them apart. I don't know that I've ever taken apart a capsule before! Question - do you ever get lightheaded in the afternoon (presuming you take yours in the morning)? Just wondered!

Isn't it funny how different meds work for different people? I was on wellbutrin briefly and it was awful for me! I was on zoloft for years until I built up a tolerance last summer. My PCP switched me to Effexor which I really like. It is a capsule so I'm a little bit worried about breaking it apart to take once I'm banded but I'm sure I'll be fine! :-)

Vid - isn't it amazing how forward people are? I mean, honestly, what business is it of hers? Hmm, what happened to my signature?!?

I'm blanking - what is SB Phase 1? I only have to do liquids 2 days before my surgery. For me, it's been 7 months since I went to the surgeon's seminar. I'm a little skeered but mostly I am excited!!!!! Oh and Linda - your quote is great! Bimbabe - remind me to pop you in the head about your continued "Libras rule" comments when we're in the hospital!!!!!!!

Holy cow, Batman - I didn't realize we were around 40 in number!! Rock on!

Woohoo! Tho if you have vicodin......kidding!

Welcome back, MommaMac. Hope you're doing well!

And yet you will not tell us your city of residence!!! :thumbup:

Yea, I don't believe there's anyone else on the 16th either.